Educational device

ABSTRACT

An educational device or toy consists of 10 units each made up of a transparent container in which is a post having a body portion of constant cross-section throughout its length and equal in height to the container, and 10 rings disposed one upon another to surround the body portion of the post throughout its length, each container having a lid of the same colour as its post and rings, all 10 lids being of different colours and the posts being adapted to fit together end-to-end with their body portions in abutment to form a column having ten equal differently coloured sections and capable of accommodating exactly 100 rings. The 10 units can also be used singly if desired.

United States Patent Christy et al.

[451 Feb. 19, 1974 [54] EDUCATIONAL DEVICE 250,063 10/1966 Austria 35/31D [76] Inventors: Barbara J. Christy; Vernon B. a

Christy, both of 150 Nottingham Znmary j y m 1d & L Rd Belper Englandttorney, gent, or zrm reiten e evme [22] Filed: Oct. 27, 1971 57ABSTRACT [21] Appl. No.: 192,968 An educational device or toy consistsof 10 units each made up of a transparent container in which is a posthaving a body portion of constant cross-section (g1. throughout itslength and equal in height to the Com [58 D 30 32 tainer, and 10 ringsdisposed one upon another to sur- 1 care round the body portion of thepost throughout its length, each container having a lid of the samecolour as its post and rings, all lids being of different col- [56]References cued ours and the posts being adapted to fit together end-UNITED STATES PATENTS to-end with their body portions in abutment toform a 2,839,842 6/1958 Keyko /32 X column having ten equal differentlycoloured sections 2,564,976 8/1951 Hooper 35/31 D and capable ofaccommodating exactly rings. The

FOREIGN PATENTS 0R APPLICATIONS 10 units can also be used singly ifdesired. 725,755 2/1932 France 35/31 D 6 Claims, 3 Drawing Figures i 1 ffil 6 4 1 r i l 1 1| QED EDUCATIONAL DEVICE The invention relates toeducational devices.

It is an object of the invention to provide an educational device whichcan be used to teach numbers and basic arithmetic and at the same timeprovides an attractive educational plaything for children.

A device according to the invention is preferably built up from adesired number of basic units each comprising a central post consistingof or including a body portion of constant cross-section throughout itslength, and ten rings which fit around the body portion to enclose itthroughout its length. Several such posts may be joined togetherend-to-end with their body portions in abutment to form a column, acolumn of 10 posts being capable of receiving exactly 100 rings. Therings are preferably of 10 different colours whereby when one ring ofeach colour is placed round a post 10 has been counted and when 10 ringsof each colour have been placed on a 10 post column 100 has been countedand appears as 10 blocks of different colours, each block representing10 and each ring representing one.

Advantageously the basic units could be sold separately in containerswhich hold exactly ten rings, whereby the containers can be used asmeasuring devices when the units are in use. The containers wouldpreferably be made from a transparent synthetic plastics material.

An embodiment of the invention will now be described, by way of exampleonly, with reference to the accompanying drawings, in which:

FIG. 1 is an exploded side view showing the components of a basic unit;

FIG. 2 is a side view of the assembled unit; and

FIG. 3 is a side view of a column made from components of 10 units shownto a reduced scale.

Referring to the drawings each unit comprises a transparent plasticscontainer 5, a lid 6, a post having a body portion 7 which is ofconstant cross-section throughout its length and is surmounted by areduced diameter spigot 9, and 10 rings 8, preferably of plasticsmaterial. The rings are dimensioned so that they fit around the bodyportion of the post but can be easily removed and replaced. The post isprovided with a blind bore 10 complementary to and at the opposite endof the post from the spigot 9. A similar bore 11 is provided in the lid6. The length of the main largediameter body portion of the post and theinternal height of the container are both equal to the height of therings when stacked one on top of the other, and the rings are preferablyall of different colours, the post and lid preferably both being of thesame colour.

FIG. 3 shows a column consisting of ten posts connected end-to-end bymeans of the spigots 9 and bores and encircled by 100 rings in 10 blocks12 of different colours. Top and bottom end caps 13 are provided to keepthe rings in place and enable the assembly to stand upright or liehorizontally. The 10 posts are preferably of different colours each postcorresponding in colour to the colour of its 10 associated rings. Asmentioned above the lids 6 and post 7 of each unit are of the samecolour and 10 units having posts of the desired colour can thus bereadily selected by reference to the lids.

The device assists in number learning and basic arithmetic by theassociation of colours with numbers. The different colours on the columnguide the child as to which colour of ring to place next on the columnand once each colour on the column is hidden by rings of that colour, 10rings of that colour have been counted. The completed column willconsist of 10 blocks of different colours, with the whole assemblyrepresenting 100, each block of colour representing 10 and each ringrepresenting one. It will be appreciated that if the column is regardedas 10 and each block as one, then each ring will be 0.1 therebyfacilitating teaching of the decimal system. The plastics containers 5can be used as desired to measure out lots of 10 rings.

Apart from the above described basic function, the device can be used toteach basic addition and subtraction and the rings can be used quiteseparately if desired. Various number games and simple multiplicationand division can also be dealt with and this ability together with thecolourful nature of the device renders it suitable as an educational toyfor use in the home quite apart from its teaching functions in theclassroom.

It should be appreciated that the device can be sold as a completeoutfit rather than in separate units as described above or the rings inthe units could all be of one colour. The posts forming the centralcolumn could all be the same colour if desired, though the device isbelieved to be more effective when the posts are coloured to correspondto their associated rings. By forming the hundred column in sectionsfrom the ten posts a further counting aid is built-in to the device, butagain a single post of the required length, either multicoloured or ofone colour, could be provided alternatively if desired. In a furtheralternative applicable to the arrangement using ten posts to form thecolumn, the blind bore 10 shown in the drawings may he replaced by abore extending completely through the post which is thus of tubular formbut still having different outer diameters at the portions 7 and 9, theformer being dimensioned to fit into the bore. An advantage of thedevice is its relatively small size when assembled enabling it to remainerected when 'not in use.

It should be appreciated that the term ring used herein is intended tocover square, hexagonal, octagonal and other ring shapes apart fromcircular.

We claim:

1. Aneducational device or toy comprising a post, a plurality of ringsof equal size which fit around the post, the post having a body memberof constant crosssection and of a length such that when 10 rings arefitted round the post and supported one upon another they enclose thebody member throughout its length,

attachment means enabling the post to be connected to another similarpost in end-to-end relation with their body members in abutment with oneanother, and a transparent container equal in internal height to thebody member of the post.

2. An educational device or toy according to claim 1 wherein saidattachment means comprises a spigot at one end of said post and acomplementary bore at the other end of said post, said container beingprovided with a lid having a bore engageable with said spigot.

3. An educational device or toy according to claim 2 wherein said lidand said post are the same color.

4. An educational device or toy comprising a post, a plurality of ringsof equal size which fit around the post, the post having a body memberof constant cross section and of a length such that when tenrings arefitted round the post and supported one upon another they enclose thebody member throughout its length,

attachment means enabling the post to be connected to another similarpost in end-to-end relation with their body members in abutment with oneanother, said attachment means including a spigot at one end of saidpost and a complementary bore at the other end of said post, and atleast one container equal in internal height to the body member of thepost, the container being provided with a lid having a bore engageablewith the spigot.

5. An educational device or toy according to claim 4 wherein said lidand said post are the same color.

6. An educational device or toy comprising units each consisting of atransparent container in which is a post having a body portion ofconstant cross-section throughout its length and equal in height to thecon tainer, and 10 rings disposed one upon another to surround the bodyportion of the post throughout its length, each container having a lidof the same colour as its post and rings, all ten lids being ofdifferent colours and the posts having attachment means enabling them tofit together end-to-end with their body portions in abutment to form acolumn having ten equal differently coloured sections and capable ofaccommodating exactly rings.

1. An educational device or toy comprising a post, a plurality of ringsof equal size which fit around the post, the post having a body memberof constant cross-section and of a length such that when 10 rings arefitted round the post and supported one upon another they enclose thebody member throughout its length, attachment means enabling the post tobe connected to another similar post in end-to-end relation with theirbody members in abutment with one another, and a transparent containerequal in internal height to the body member of the post.
 2. Aneducational device or toy according to claim 1 wherein said attachmentmeans comprises a spigot at one end of said post and a complementarybore at the other end of said post, said container being provided with alid having a bore engageable with said spigot.
 3. An educational deviceor toy according to claim 2 wherein said lid and said post are the samecolor.
 4. An educational device or toy comprising a post, a plurality ofrings of equal size which fit around the post, the posT having a bodymember of constant cross-section and of a length such that when tenrings are fitted round the post and supported one upon another theyenclose the body member throughout its length, attachment means enablingthe post to be connected to another similar post in end-to-end relationwith their body members in abutment with one another, said attachmentmeans including a spigot at one end of said post and a complementarybore at the other end of said post, and at least one container equal ininternal height to the body member of the post, the container beingprovided with a lid having a bore engageable with the spigot.
 5. Aneducational device or toy according to claim 4 wherein said lid and saidpost are the same color.
 6. An educational device or toy comprising 10units each consisting of a transparent container in which is a posthaving a body portion of constant cross-section throughout its lengthand equal in height to the container, and 10 rings disposed one uponanother to surround the body portion of the post throughout its length,each container having a lid of the same colour as its post and rings,all ten lids being of different colours and the posts having attachmentmeans enabling them to fit together end-to-end with their body portionsin abutment to form a column having ten equal differently colouredsections and capable of accommodating exactly 100 rings.